Beginner’s Guide – 3. Using Blue Button & CCR/CCD

Blue Button is a technology developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and promoted by the federal government as a standard technology and protocol enabling patients’ easy access and to their health information.

Blue Button is used on federal health information websites, e.g., Medicare.com, myHealtheVet, and TriCare Online, and on numerous health insurers’ websites and patient portals. For more information and guidance on using Blue Button to update your PHR, go to Updating with Blue Button on the HealthVault drop-down menu.

CCR and CCD, standard formats for Continuity of Care health information, may also be used by patients to down their health information.

Microsoft’s HealthVault recognizes properly formatted information in Blue Button files (.txt) and CCR/CCD files (.xml) and is able to extract the information and place in in the proper locations and formats in the HealthVault PHR.

Errors. If there are errors in the structure or content of these files, the process will fail, and no information will be added to the HealthVault PHR.*

Using Blue Button to Update Your PHR

Using CCR/CCD to Get & Add Continuity of Care Information

Add a CCR to HealthVault PHR. If one of the sources of your health information offers downloading of the CCR, then… …
1. download the file (e.g., ccr.xml),
2. click Health Information on the home page of your HealthVault PHR,
3. click the plus (+) for the Continuity of Care Record (CCR),
4. Choose the downloaded CCR file,
5. add a description, and then
6. click the Save button and wait for the CCR to be uploaded.

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* BlueCross/BlueShield and Continuity of Care Records (CCR)

Aug 1, 2013. Currently, I am having problems with the BlueCross BlueShield CCR file (ccr.xml) downloaded from the BCBS Federal Employee Program portal. The problem was identified with the assistance of Sean Nolan of Microsoft’s HealthVault Development Center and an online utility, CCR – Verify Xml Against Schema. At this time the problem is in the hands of technical staff at BCBS.